Republicans Charge Democrats With Confusing Constituents

House Republicans are accusing the Democratic National Committee of attempting to mislead voters into believing they have a formal meeting in Members offices during the recess as part of the two parties escalating war over health care reform.Republicans argue that the DNC, through its Organizing for America grass-roots arm, was scheduling meetings for constituents that did not exist in an effort to ramp up anger against the GOP.OFA launched a program earlier this month that encouraged supporters to stop by their Congressmans district office to express their support for the Democratic health care reform plan. The site offered the ability to schedule the visit; the problem is that Republicans say the group forgot to inform the offices about the appointment.The difference between a visit and a meeting has created confusion in several Congressional districts where district staff has had to field calls and visits from constituents.Concerned people seeking to meet with their Congressman or Senator, especially on an important issue like health care, do not deserve to be misled and misinformed by the presidents political operatives, said Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.). This type of manipulation is not the change America was promised and we hope this misleading site is pulled down immediately.But DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse dismissed those charges, noting that OFA had only encouraged constituents to visit offices and made clear in their materials that a meeting with Members or staff was not guaranteed.We asked people to pick a time to drop by and drop off a flier in support of health insurance reform, Woodhouse said. We asked them to pick a time so that a bunch of people wouldnt show up all at once.Woodhouse said constituents were encouraged to visit Republican and Democratic offices. We sent a guide instructing people to call ahead and made it clear this was not a meeting  but a visit.Michelle Ozanus, communications director for Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas), cited an incident Monday when a constituent walked into Neugebauers office in Big Spring, Texas, to check in for a 10 a.m. meeting and was told by the district staff that no record of the appointment existed.We have a large district; people come from all over, Ozanus said. To have them come all this way and be confused is frustrating.The constituent said the meeting had been scheduled through OFA and that she had received a confirmation e-mail that said the appointment had been set.Since the beginning of the August recess, Republicans and Democrats have taken turns blaming each other for trying to mobilize AstroTurf protests on health care. Democrats have blamed Republicans for mobilizing their supporters to disrupt town-hall meetings across the country.